Jamaican Alana Reid and South African Bayanda Walaza won the 100m titles and the world u20 track and field championships in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday night.
Reid, 19, prevailed in 11.17 seconds. She was part of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team that placed fifth at the Paris Olympics. She was sixth in the 100m at the Jamaican Olympic Trials.
Walaza, 18, clocked 10.19 seconds. He was part of South Africa’s 4x100m relay that took silver at the Paris Olympics.
No Americans were in either final.
At the last two U20 worlds in 2021 and 2022, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo won the men’s 100m and Jamaican Tina Clayton won the women’s 100m. Tebogo went on to win the Paris Olympic 200m.
The last Americans to win the 100m at U20 worlds were Noah Lyles and Candace Hill in 2016. Lyles went on to win the Paris Olympic 100m, plus the last three senior world titles at 200m.
The world U20 championships are for athletes who are between 16 and 19 years old this Dec. 31. U20 worlds continue through Saturday, live on Peacock.
Past U20 world champions who went on to win gold at the Paris Olympics also include Kenyans Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800m) and Beatrice Chebet (5000m, 10,000m), Swede Mondo Duplantis (pole vault) and Canadian Camryn Rogers (hammer throw).
The next world U20 championships are in 2026 in Eugene, Oregon.
